IS and OUGHT

[Belinda]

He's an Atheist. He's told me what he believes. Or rather, what he refuses to believe.

But either way, what he believes is not going to determine whether or not he's responsible before God. We all are. And if he's an Atheist, he's without excuse for being that (see Romans 1:20).

You know, whenever I get involved with you, IC, I always end up not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Some author may write a comedy based on Immanuel Can. Possibly already has done.

[Harbal]

Ok, I'm just going to try saying this completely colloquially,

I'm so pleased you decided to do that, because when you speak in language that I can understand, I find myself agreeing with everything you say.

[FlashDangerpants]

I don't think I've met Skepdick yet, lol.

I'd be interested in a thread of this nature if you want to play devil's advocate on it.

I gotta say it looks like I am as out of my depth there as Mannie is and he's getting that fresh, newly torn butthole treatment so I would too.

Skepdick is genuinely your best bet, he knows about 700 times as much as I do about this area of things, and although he's an absurd mental abomination, if you annoy him a little he will argue against your position with fanatical devotion even if he agrees with you. So I suggest a new thread in the Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics sub.

Technically that would also invite Eggnogg7 to drop in and tell you ad nauseum about how some thing which is the opposite of some other thing is just the reflection of that thing via binary recursion so they are like totally the same. However that guy currently only writes once or twice a week in little one hour slots on Thursdays or Fridays, so his spam potential appears to be constrained by the operating hours of a prison library. Today is your maximum window of no handjob7 interference anyway.

[Astro Cat]

I don't think I've met Skepdick yet, lol.

I'd be interested in a thread of this nature if you want to play devil's advocate on it.

I gotta say it looks like I am as out of my depth there as Mannie is and he's getting that fresh, newly torn butthole treatment so I would too.

Skepdick is genuinely your best bet, he knows about 700 times as much as I do about this area of things, and although he's an absurd mental abomination, if you annoy him a little he will argue against your position with fanatical devotion even if he agrees with you. So I suggest a new thread in the Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics sub.

Technically that would also invite Eggnogg7 to drop in and tell you ad nauseum about how some thing which is the opposite of some other thing is just the reflection of that thing via binary recursion so they are like totally the same. However that guy currently only writes once or twice a week in little one hour slots on Thursdays or Fridays, so his spam potential appears to be constrained by the operating hours of a prison library. Today is your maximum window of no handjob7 interference anyway.

I snorted at “no handjob7.” Is that the Phil guy or are there two guys obsessed with “binary recursion?”

[promethean75]

You know nothing of the grammar matrix. I bet you didn't know the human brain is the most complex life support system, either. Tell em, Phil.

[FlashDangerpants]

I don't think I've met Skepdick yet, lol.

I'd be interested in a thread of this nature if you want to play devil's advocate on it.

I gotta say it looks like I am as out of my depth there as Mannie is and he's getting that fresh, newly torn butthole treatment so I would too.

Skepdick is genuinely your best bet, he knows about 700 times as much as I do about this area of things, and although he's an absurd mental abomination, if you annoy him a little he will argue against your position with fanatical devotion even if he agrees with you. So I suggest a new thread in the Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics sub.

Technically that would also invite Eggnogg7 to drop in and tell you ad nauseum about how some thing which is the opposite of some other thing is just the reflection of that thing via binary recursion so they are like totally the same. However that guy currently only writes once or twice a week in little one hour slots on Thursdays or Fridays, so his spam potential appears to be constrained by the operating hours of a prison library. Today is your maximum window of no handjob7 interference anyway.

I snorted at “no handjob7.” Is that the Phil guy or are there two guys obsessed with “binary recursion?”

Ah no. There was a movie called se7en in which a man called John Doe was the most tedious serial killer in all of movie history. A boring nobody with nothing of value to say who spreads his message by murdering people in faux ironic ways. reverse the name of that tedious twatbag and you get oedhnoj7 which is our local equivalent. Same sort of person, just even more backwards.

[promethean75]

"A boring nobody with nothing of value to say who spreads his message by murdering people in faux ironic ways."

On the contrary, I thought Mr. Spacey raised some pretty good points

[henry quirk]

Flash & me, like two old queens, are havin' a tiff. Mebbe you good folks can help us out?

Why is rape wrong?

All answers are appreciated.

[Immanuel Can]

Well, start with that intuition you had earlier, that things in your earlier life maybe weren't what you wish now they had been. Decide whether or not you really think that, and whether or not that's indicative of a serious problem you wish you could deal with. Or is it just "water under the bridge." That'd be phase 1.

The problem, if you could call it that, is that I do not like the person I used to be. The quality of my character, in some respects, was poor. I've changed over the years, particularly in the last ten or so, and I am quite a different person to the one I used to be. There's still room for improvement though. There are a few actual events in the past that I deeply regret, and remembering those things is a troubling experience for me. Other than that, the thought of the kind of person I used to be makes me feel uncomfortable in that it affects my sense of self esteem.

That's very honest of you to say. I'm conscious of the honour you do me in being so frank.

I wish, in a way, that all that wasn't there for me to have to live with, but, given that it is there, it is important to me that I live with it without trying to rationalise it into something more palatable. It isn't unbearable, and I don't need any help with it. There isn't really anything for God to do, as I would rather try to do what does need to be done myself. If God really is love and wisdom, and he is merciful, he isn't going to punish me for that.

Well, I'd say you should ask Him what He thinks needs to be done. If what you've been trying to do for yourself hasn't been working well enough to give you peace about it, maybe that's the next step you'd want to take. And if you're not sure what He thinks of all that, then asking Him is the right way to go.

So "How do I do that?" you might rightly ask. The answer is this: open the conversation. Take five minutes at the start of your day, and tell God frankly what you're facing and struggling to deal with. You can even tell him the honest truth about your doubts concerning His existence and interest...He handles truth really, really well. In fact, it's all he wants from you.

Then see where He takes you with that.

But persevere a bit. There's an element of "good faith" involved in talking to God. You need to show yourself you're serious, if not Him, and stick with it for a bit. Set your own schedule...what's this worth to you? Say, a month? A couple of months? And if you get nothing, then at the end you get your Atheism fully refunded, no charge.

But you won't get nothing if you mean it.

Nobody, including me, needs to know whether you do that or not. But what have you got to lose?

[Harbal]

That's very honest of you to say. I'm conscious of the honour you do me in being so frank.

Being open and honest is the best way I have come up with to deal with it. Being open about myself to others helps, but being as honest as I can with myself is the most important thing. I think that being honest with yourself, and being honest with God, pretty much amount to the same thing.

[Immanuel Can]

That's very honest of you to say. I'm conscious of the honour you do me in being so frank.

Being open and honest is the best way I have come up with to deal with it. Being open about myself to others helps, but being as honest as I can with myself is the most important thing. I think that being honest with yourself, and being honest with God, pretty much amount to the same thing.

You should ask Him about that.

[Belinda]

That's very honest of you to say. I'm conscious of the honour you do me in being so frank.

Being open and honest is the best way I have come up with to deal with it. Being open about myself to others helps, but being as honest as I can with myself is the most important thing. I think that being honest with yourself, and being honest with God, pretty much amount to the same thing.

Well said Harbal!

[Belinda]

That's very honest of you to say. I'm conscious of the honour you do me in being so frank.

Being open and honest is the best way I have come up with to deal with it. Being open about myself to others helps, but being as honest as I can with myself is the most important thing. I think that being honest with yourself, and being honest with God, pretty much amount to the same thing.

You should ask Him about that.

What is the use of guilt, Immanuel? Guilt is not remorse . If you believe you are guilty it's hard to feel proper remorse.

[Harbal]

You should ask Him about that.

I hoped you would have had a bit more respect for what I have said to you on the matter, even if you totally disagree with it. Please don't look on me as someone who is open to persuasion; that will only bring about frustration for us both.

[henry quirk]

If you believe you are guilty it's hard to feel proper remorse.

To be remorseful is to know you're wrong. If you ain't feelin' guilty it's impossible to feel remorse.